Sweetgrass APA is a Pale Ale of distinction! 2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner in the American Pale Ale category, this crisp and fragrant beer is hopped and dry-hopped with plenty of Amarillos and Cascades. Try it with any bold, flavorful food to complement its citrusy, resinous spiciness.

This hazy, pale amber APA from Idaho is a fairly straightforward affair. The nose is mostly pine and grapefruit notes with floral hints; the flavor hops are up front on the palate as well, plus a flash of boozy malt that is quickly replaced by a significant hops bitterness, enhanced by a healthy carbonation. The finish is a nice balance of flavor and bittering hops, producing a moderately-lingering bitterness with pine and citrus highlights. Bitterness is middling for the style, or a bit north of there, and body is maybe a bit lighter than one might expect. (563 characters)

Picked up a single 12 oz bottle at Four Firkins in Minneapolis. The bottled on date says that it's now four months old--wish that I had it a little fresher, but it was their last one. Poured right from the fridge into a pint glass.

L: Pours a cloudy amber with an inch off-white head that falls fairly quickly but has some good stick to it. Through the haze, I can't make out any effervescence.

S: Pretty weak bouquet on this one--I'm picking up some grassy/herbal hop notes and a bit of bready malt, but that's about it.

T: This has a pretty unique flavor profile for an APA. Bready malt flavors at the front with some floral and grassy hop notes entering and continuing into the middle. In the middle, there's some additional herbal hop notes coming through--they register as a bit peppery/spicy. Others have suggested citrus or tropical fruit notes, but I'm not really getting any of those. The back end has more caramel/bread malt flavor and a resinous hoppy finish that is just the right amount of bitter.

F: This one is crisp and smooth, with a very nice level of carbonation. Very nice transition from the smooth foretaste to the bitter aftertaste.

O: I really wish that I had a fresher bottle. As is, this is an average to just-above-average APA. It brings some nice flavors, but it never delivers that bright hop punch I'm looking for in an APA. I'll see if I can snag a fresh bottle and update. (1,410 characters)

A deep orange amber almost copper colored and fairly opaque with a bit of a glow, but also pretty solid appearance. Some nice hints of orange and lemon yellow to the edges with some nice small carbonation. Head is fluffy in appearance and retention but manages only about two fingers, but settles to a thick puck and a soapy thick ring.

Mellow hop aroma and nice small airy grains seem to come through the bouquet. Floral and slightly fruity, almost a bit herbal green smelling as well with a little bit of mild caramel sweetness. There's a fun sort of pickle briney smell to this as well, almost salty but makes an interesting contrast and quite surprising too.

Palate delivers nicely. Hop angle seems in taste to accent on the mid palate a tropical note, slightly mango and pineapple. Nice juiced body if a little bit light on depth but delivers nicely. Excellent finish and aftertaste with more of that juicy fruit quality coming out nicely. Slightly playful carbonation and prickly on the tongue at first but, washes with a nice malty backbone and honey light and caramel sweetness to match.

Very nice APA, the BA score of 84 is really off. This is one of the better APA's I've had. Nice piney, citrusy smell. Well made malt hop combo, both easily tasted. Organicy flavors pop through, not too much sweet citrus flavor. Crisp and smooth mouthfeel. Minimal bitterness and just a tad bite on the tongue. Very drinkable. (325 characters)

Served on-tap in a Shaker pint glass at Hayden's Post (Jackson Hole, WY).

A: Hazy orange-amber with 1/2-1 finger of oatmeal colored head with good retention and nice bands of lacing down the glass.

S: Grassy and fresh without vegetal character, pine and orange/grapefruit citrus hopping, light honeysuckle as well with solid pale malt, slightly grainy aroma with very light kiss of caramel. Aroma is much more hops than malt, and it smells like a dry-hopped APA.

T: Really nice APA flavor, definitely a dry, low-caramel example with soft pale malt backbone, light caramel to add some lusciousness and countering sweetness followed by a balanced dose of strong pine, resin, grapefruit, lemon, and orange with an herbal honeysuckly influence in the finish. A notch under moderately bitter and clean as far as alcohol and yeast components go. Solid and very drinkable APA.

M: This beer delivers a stellar balance of maltiness, slickness, and a dry finish. Body is light-medium at most with medium carbonation and soft citrus and grassy hoppy aftertaste.

O: GT Sweetgrass is a superb APA with an exceptional balance to hops, malt, and dry-hopping, none overwhelming but all coming together to deliver a pleasantly hoppy, extraordinarily drinkable beer. (1,253 characters)

Appearance – The beer pours a golden amber color with a one finger head of white foam. The head has a decent level of retention, fading to leave a lighter level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The smell is heaviest of a citrus nature, with the citrus being a nice blend of sweeter tangerine and some bitter grapefruit hop. Along with these aromas comes some other smells of lighter tropical fruits of pineapple and mango as well as a little bit of a cracker like aroma. A hint of an herbal and floral smell are there as well, rounding out the aroma nicely.

Taste – The taste begins with a drier cracker and very lightly sweetened flavor of a peach and orange nature. The sweet is very light upfront, and grows even lighter as the taste advances to the end. While the sweet is light, there is a good deal of grapefruit and herbal hop flavor right from the start. These hop flavors grow stronger as the taste moves onto the end, and are joined by other hop flavors of an earthy nature. With the lessening of the sweet and the increase in the hop, one is left with a rather crisp and bitter flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the slightly thinner side with a carbonation level that is on the average side. For the APA style the feel is rather nice as it creates a decent base for the hop flavors to sit on the tongue all while still making for a more refreshing and crisp brew overall.

Overall – A rather nice drier APA overall. Not the best APA out there, but nice and crisp and on the drier side with a good hop hit. (1,631 characters)

A: hazy pale orange with a 3 finger billowy khaki headS: Kind of faint, but I get some grapefruit, some pale malt sweetnessT: Mainly grapefruit, tangerine (presumably, the Amarillo hops) but not real juicy...fairly dry. Just a little bit of pleasant bitterness tied in with some faint sweetness. At the end, I get a little soapiness that affects my enjoyment.M: Medium carbonation, light and smooth mouthful, but enough bitterness to keep it style appropriate.

Overall: There are numerous others out there that I prefer in the style, but considered on its own, this is good and I'd drink it again. (666 characters)

Pours a slightly hazy yellow orange with a small white creamy head. Good carbonation. Was getting a citrus aroma, which oddly did not transfer to the mouth, coming off with more of a non citrus fruit mix. Taste was quite sweet, but leaving a sour bitterness throughout the mouth. (340 characters)

Reviewed from full phone notes taken at Mather Campground, Grand Canyon National Park, AZ.

A- 12oz bottle poured into a chalice with a hazy golden orange hue. The cap that builds on the beer is white and has a thick frothy consistency. The one finger crown has decent retention and falls to a thick ring and some bubbly islands. Webs of lace as well as drizzle and spots.

Overall - Nice take on the classic APA. A bit too sweet and sour for it to be an all-day drinker, but serves as a nice one-off or change of pace brew. Might benefit with a stronger malt backbone. In any case, one I'll revisit in the future. (871 characters)

A- Looks great, classic APA golden color, crystal clear except for flecks of yeast from the bottle conditioning. Three finger of head with moderate staying power and lacing.

S- not sure if this was the specific bottle or not but the overwhelming aroma is metallic. Very slight hop nose.

T- typical well made, but modest APA. Fantastic airport bar beer, but not one of my favorites. Citrus hops upfront with a surprisingly strong malt middle and a grassy hop finish. My rating is more indicative of my tastes, not how well the beer was made. This hits exactly what it was going for. If you are an APA fan, you will like this beer.

M- medium body, slight slickness or creaminess. Carbonated well.

O- Solid APA, too much alcohol for a true session beer, but it'd be easy to knock several of these back. (842 characters)

The taste gives up some amber waves of grain, some of that tart lemony bitterness, zesty and... tart is really the word for it. There's an underlying piercing sweetness that seems to draw from the tartness, before giving a bit of a honey on the finish. Decent body, a little bubbly for my preference, but appropriate. The aftertaste is the standard citrusy bitter. As it warms up a bit, it becomes more traditionally bitter, though more of an IPA than an APA. The bitterness is sharp, pine and citrus rind. All in all it's an interesting and enjoyable drink, though I prefer my pale's a little less tart and a little more... bitter, I guess. Almost gives the impression of a tart blonde. The taste is the weakest link here for me, though it's not unenjoyable by any means. Glad I got to try it, though I don't anticipate reaching for it again in the near future. (1,089 characters)

O: While the taste wasn't exactly the same as the nose, or even quite as good, it wasn't what I'd call disappointing. There could have been more substance to the body, but it was definitely good, worth a try, and I would recommend it. (505 characters)

A - Pours a hazy golden orange with large chunks of white yeast swirling about. Tons of carbonation streams to the three-finger, off-white, rocky head. Head stays intact all the way down the glass at at least one finger. Leaves behind beautiful concentric rings of lacing.

S - Didn't get a chance to smell it upon opening the bottle as the beer came shooting out at me. I'm to blame for this for cellering it for two years. In the glass, I find a nice dose of citrus hops on a biscuity background with hints of spice.

T - Orange and biscuit upfront. The body is a solid blend piney and citrus hops against a cracker and biscuit malt background. Smooth fruitiness and pine flavors as the beer passes over the back of the tongue transitions into pin, gin and citrus notes in the finish. Almost a bit reminiscent of a strong G&T.

M - On the light side of medium bodied with adequate carbonation. No complaints here, suits the style and flavor profile of the beer well.

I picked this up in a Teton Brewing variety pack while doing field work out at Yellowstone. This was one of my favorite brews from a very competent brewery, and with good reason. Despite being in my closet or garage, this beer still tasted fantastic and had incredible head retention. The light citrus notes and slightly light mouthfeel combine to make this an ideal summer beer for hopheads. Very drinkable, and something I definitely look forward to having again when I move up to northern Colorado next year. (1,527 characters)

Pours a copper color with a bit of sediment. Soapy, sudsy head that lasts the duration of the drinking experience. Good lacing is left on the glass. Aroma of grainy malts and floral, woodsy hops. Amarillo and Cascade are the hop varieties used, and it is no surprise that the hops stand out in the aroma and flavor. In the taste, citrus and lemon tea. Mild spicy, grassy and earthy character. Solid little pale with a lingering bitterness. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Overall this was quite enjoyable. Dusty, resinated hops stick with you. (547 characters)

Thanks to Sara and Craus for this one. Bottled on 4/24/13. Poured into straight pint glass. Poured a nice hazy orange color with over an inch of off-white head that had very good retention and light-to-moderate lacing.

There were some floral hop notes at the front of the aroma, followed by a light bit of citrus, all on top of some gentle grains. There was a low amount of malt flavor on the tongue, but the floral and citrus hop notes were the main component anyway. The beer had a bitter citrus finish that didn't really push my buttons. In actuality, I found found this beer to more of an IPA than a straight Pale.

The body was the typical medium of the style, that a lot of folks think SNPA defines, I also think that beer is really an IPA too. Drinkability was good, the bottle was gone quickly enough, and I could see having a couple more. Overall, a pretty nice beer that would have gotten a higher numerical score had it been classified as an IPA. Worth trying if you see it. (986 characters)

Sweetgrass pours a golden amber color with a nice lacing head. There is a mild aroma, with just some floral notes. The taste is slightly floral, and very slightly hoppy, and there is no lingering bitterness. Flavors are detectable, but its rather watery, and the flavors are weak. Overall, by no means is this a bad beer, its just boring and weak. (347 characters)